Floating platform from which to start water skiing



March 17, 1970 P. l... CORMIER FLOATING PLATFORM FROM WHICH TO START WATER SKIING R R .0 MT m mv m 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Paul [.Cormier MJGZLQH ATTORNEY Filed May 16. 1968 March 17, 1970 L. CORMIER FLOATING PLATFORM FROM WHICH TO START WATER SKIING Filed May 16. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet z mvamon Paul L. Gormier FIG. 3.

ORNEY United States Patent 3,500,978 FLOATING PLATFORM FROM WHICH TO START WATER SKIING Paul L. Cormier, 40 Lincoln St., Spencer, Mass. 01562 Filed May 16, 1968, Ser. No. 729,617 Int. Cl. B65g 13/ 00; B63h 17/00; A63g 31/00 US. Cl. 193-35 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus to facilitate the take-off on water skis including flotation gear to support the skier at the water level for starting and having a seat or positioner associated with ski guides to initially establish a proper position and attitude of the skier relative to the skis and the waters surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT This invention is an improvement on my previously known starter for use with water skis which is shown in my prior US. Patent No. 3,179,222 issued Apr. 20, 1965. This known starter shows a ski slideway adapted to be fixedly mounted near the water surface, which can be made light weight and portable, but which nonetheless is adjustably supported on stationary legs while in use to position the stationary ski guides approximately at the level of the water.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to water ski starting devices like that shown in my aforementioned patent but is distinguished from this known means in providing a flotation system with a water ski starting platform to make starting much easier and safer. As fully explained in the above mentioned patent, a critical speed is required to produce the necessary hydro-dynamic lift on the skis and during the take-off or starting procedure the skier rnust accelerate from a stationary position to a speed equal to or faster than the critical speed. This invention makes it possible to accomplish the necessary acceleration from a dead start to hydro-dynamic support speed as smoothly as possible and minimizes jerking and straining in order to make the take-ofl easy and safe. It is also operative to minimize any disturbance to the skiers balance which might be expected to be felt upon the transition from the starter apparatus to the full water support of the skier.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved water ski starter device that makes the skiers take-off easy and safe.

It is another object of the invention to provide a water ski take-off guide means that can be used with a boat that is started from an idling speed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a floating water ski starter that is always positioned at the level of the water.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a water ski starter apparatus having positioning means thereon to encourage the skier to assume the proper position relative to the skis and their planing position on the water such that surer and safer starts result.

These and other objects will appear more fully below in the more detailed description and drawings forming a part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Referring to the drawings: FIGURE 1 is a perspective showing of the water ski starting apparatus floating in the water;

3,500,978 Patented Mar. 17, 1970 FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the starter apparatus with the starting seat removed;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation partly broken away, taken on line III--III of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a detail top plan view of one of the rollers for supporting the skis;

FIGURE 5 is a front sectional elevation of the roller structure of FIGURE 4, taken on line V-V of FIG- URE 2; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective showing of the positioner means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The starter apparatus for water skiers here shown is adapted to float in the water and thus ensures that the skier takes off exactly on the plane of the waters surface. For this purpose the preferred form of the apparatus includes two spaced apart flotation elements 10 and '11. These elements may take the form of hollow chambers formed of any suitable material such as a fiberglass body filled with any known foamed plastic such as foamed polyurethane. The flotation chambers 10 and 11 are relatively flat and widely spaced apart to give stability to the floating apparatus in order to smooth out the effects of choppiness in the water or running waves. The chambers are also selected to be of a size to easily support the weight of a skier without being submerged to any great degree.

The flotation chambers are held in a fixed, spaced, generally parallel relationship by means of rigid struts 12, 13, and 14. These struts are preferably formed of the same material as the chambers 10 and 11 and are joined integrally with them, such as by being welded thereto to form a substantially rigid self-sustaining body. The struts are designed to have a sufficient beam effect to maintain this rigidity as the starting apparatus floats on the surface of the water so that regardless of the waviness thereof, a rigid elongated starting platform is provided that is designed to somewhat smooth out any normal degree of waviness one might expect to encounter.

The struts 12, 13 and 14 are each contoured on their upper edges and are provided with generally vertically arranged slots 15 and 16 to interfit with the underside of the floors 17, 18, 19 and 20 and the open ended guide slots 21 and 22. The integral floor and slot members extend from end to end of the apparatus and are disposed in parallel relationship to the elements 10- and 11. The floor and slot means extend across and together with the longitudinally and upwardly projecting vertical guide wall 23, substantially cover the space between the inside walls of the spaced apart chambers 10 and 11. The guide wall 23 is formed to extend lengthwise along the middle portion of the floor.

The floor sections 17, 18, 19 and 20 are each provided with a series of apertures such as 24, see FIGURE 4 for receiving rollers 25. The rollers are carried to be rotatable about the shafts 26 each of which shafts are fixedly mounted in their respective positions to be supported at their outer ends on the top side of the floor elements 17, 18, 19 and 20. The rollers and shafts are made of any material rugged enough to support the skis and skiers weight on take-off and of course must be made of a material that is relatively unaffected by water. An aluminum alloy or stainless steel shaft and nylon roller assembly is preferred. The ends of each shaft are each adapted to be welded or otherwise permanently bonded to suitable aligned notches 27 and 28 formed in the respective floor elements on opposite sides of each of the apertures 24.

The apparatus is completed by provision of a positioner means 29 having vertical legs 30 and 31 and a seat 32. The lower ends of the legs have bearing means 32 and 33 to engage over the inside top edge and inside walls 34 and 35 of each of the flotation elements and 11. The legs of this structure are provided with a sufficient degree of resilience to provide a sufficiently tight engagement to hold the take-off positioner relatively fixed thereto. The positioner may be adjustably placed at any location along the length of the apparatus as may be desired.

As best shown in FIGURE 1, the flotation gear is designed to have good stability when a person is on the top side of the apparatus as it floats in the water. It is also arranged to float sufficiently deep in the water such that the water level floods the slots 21 and 22 and flows over floor elements 17, 18, 19 and 20, permitting only the top edges of the plurality of rollers 25 to normally project just above the water level. This relationship is evident upon inspection of the left end of the representation included in FIGURE 1.

In use, the skier mounts the apparatus and takes his Seat on positioner 29. The skis are set on rollers 25 to be positioned in the water and over the respective floor elements 17 and 18, and 19 and 20. The two skis are thus each loosely positioned to be moved between the inside walls 34 and 35 of flotation elements 10 and 11 and the center guide wall 24. The skier inserts his feet in the harmess on the skis and is ready for take-01f.

With the apparatus here described, a boat may be gently moved into position and may even be allowed to drift into position to take up the slack in the tow rope. When all is in readiness, the motor is gunned and take-off begins. As the skier is pulled forwardly he slides off the seat as the skis begin to move on rollers 25. The keels of the respective skis are guided by slots 21 and 22 and as the skiers body begins to move forwardly, there is a transfer of weight from the positioner to the skis when the buttocks leaves the seat, which change in weight distribution nudges the skis forwardly. All of this action occurs rather instantaneously and automatically as forword motion is produced by the pull of the motorboat on the tow line, but the actions are guided by the relationship of positioner 29 and rollers 25 so that even an inexperienced skier is started forwardly without any jerk or other undue starting movement that might cause a loss of balance. Continued forward pull with an even rate of acceleration completes the take-off as the skis glide down the guide channels on the top of the rollers 25, the rollers being continuously Wetted and lubricated by the water which overflows the floor portion of the apparatus. The guide way of the starter apparatus has sufficient length so that by the time the skis reach the end of the floor elements 17, 18, 19 and 20, the speed is suf-- ficient to produce the necessary hydro-dynamic reaction to support the skier on the top of the water. Since the flotation gear always supports the floor elements in position to be just at the level of the water, it is apparent that the skier is guided on his way at least in the beginning with a proper positioning of the knees, body and arms, and is delivered from the end of the starter apparatus with sufficient speed to continue his journey with a minimum liability of tumbling into the water and consequently being ducked at the beginning of a run as so frequently happens to the inexperienced skier. The positive control of ski action coupled with the smooth pull generated when a boat is started from an idling position, provides an ideal arrangement for starting the water skier on his journey.

A single ski may be used by a more experienced skier and if required at the start, a second balancing ski can be used in the other channel during take-off. It is obvious that this flotation ski start apparatus may be utilized at any location either in deep water or shallow. It may be allowed to drift or may be anchored. The apparatus is designed to have sufficient length and weight to be considered a permanent fixture to be left in the water the same as an outboard boat and where tides or changing water level conditions are present, always floats at the water level to be ready at all times for immediate use.

The apparatus can easily be adapted for use with water sleds, but for all of the reasons apparent from reading the description above, it finds particular use for guiding water skiers on take-off.

The apparatus here disclosed is particularly useful for teaching beginners the art of water skiing. It is extremely diflicult to master the balance required for an unassisted take-off from a position in the water and otherwise a sudden jerk type of pull must be mastered if a start is to be made from the shore line. The problems associated with such take-offs are very difficult for beginners to contend with, as more fully set forth in my earlier patent mentioned above. As compared with the patented structure the improvement provided by this invention is of great value to the beginner because of the assured smooth glide from the supported engagement of the skis on the apparatus to the fully water supported hydro-dynamic ride. With the new apparatus, the transition from the floating means to the hydro-dynamic support is automatically controlled and is always perfect. In the prior device, manual adjustment to provide a fixed setting might not always provide for a smooth transition. Also, in water which may be somewhat wavy, only an average setting can be made, but with my new invention, even in waves, a smooth transition takes place. This is particularly helpful in the case of beginners and adds a considerable degree of comfort to take-offs even for experienced skiers.

The flotation gear is preferably provided with a wide spread so that the apparatus will not tip over easily. As shown in the drawings, it is preferred that rather flat tanks be provided, laid flatwise in the water. Such disposition controls the depth to which the apparatus sinks when skiers of different weights climb aboard and the difference between maximum and minimum submersion is kept within very close limits by such disposition of the tanks.

Referring to FIG. 3, it will be seen that, if a single sheet of material is used, starting with the center of the sheet and forming the guide wall 24, floor elements 18, and 19, slots 21 and 22, floor elements 17 and 20, and then tanks 10 and 11, these elements of the apparatus can be successively formed. It will then be necessary only to seal the open ends of the tank elements and the joints which result from turning the edges of the sheet back onto the sheet to completely form the Walls of the tank. Then the struts 12, 13, and 14 may be fastened in place and the rollers mounted to complete the apparatus.

The length of the guideway and float apparatus is not critical. It can be shortened when more powerful boats are used to accelerate the skier or a longer run can be provided if boats with a slower pick-up are to be used. The positioner 29 is made to fit at any selected point along the length of the apparatus depending upon whether a longer or shorter run is required. The apparatus is symmetrical end to end and thus it makes no difference which end of the apparatus the positioner is fitted onto.

The description above covers the preferred form of my invention, but many modifications thereof may occur to those skilled'in the art which will fall within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A floating starter apparatus for water skis having keels, comprising a pair of elongated spaced-apart flotation members adapted to support a skier, guide ways for said skis positioned to extend lengthwise between said elongated member, slide means on said guide ways-for supporting said skis to move lengthwise along said guide ways, said guide ways being mounted relative to said flotation members to be supported with the surface of said guide ways approximately at the level of the water, and said flotation elements and guide ways being of sufficient length to provide support for the skier until the skiers motion can be accelerated to a speed such that the skis will support the skier on the water when the skis pass off the end of the apparatus.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein a positioner means in the form of a seat is mounted adjacent one end of the flotation elements to support a skier in an ideal attitude relative to the skis and rollers so that at the start the forward motion of the skier is facilitated.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said flotation members take the form of elongated air chambers, and said apparatus includes rigid struts for fixedly supporting said chambers relative to each other to float as a unitary structure.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said struts also support said guide Ways, and said guide ways including floor elements and slots, said floor elements supporting rollers to position the skis engaging therewith at the water level, and said slots co-operating with the keels of said skis to guide them as the skis move along the apparatus.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,114,158 12/1963 Thompson 2721 3,179,222 4/ 1965 COrmier 19335 3,358,304 12/1967 Esniay.

ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 114-235; 272-1 

